He gave up at last, finished the chicken leg, and laid the bone on the table. He said, slowly, “Now I am a man.” He gave Melissa a deep golden stare. “Now I want to know where Tom is. I want to know what the gardener has done with Tom. I saw him take Tom away. He put the other boy in Tom’s bed. That boy is not Tom. Where is Tom?”
Melissa sighed. Neither lies nor evasiveness would do. “Tom is in another place.”
“Beyond the door?”
“Yes,” she said, surprised. “Beyond the portal. How…?”
“I saw the gardener come from there, smelling of deep, damp caverns. I saw him take Tom there. Tell me—all of it, please. If I am to help Tom I must know all of it.”
Olive watched them intent and eager, absorbing every word, filled with a deep, excited wonder.
“There is a land,” Melissa began, unable to do less than explain. “A land of caverns, deep down…”
“Beyond the door,” Olive whispered.
“Beyond the door,” Melissa said.
It took her a long time to explain sufficiently about the Netherworld, about the weakness of the Netherworld newborn and about the political importance of a changeling. Olive knew about changelings.
“Children stolen from our world, taken into the underworld through the cleft in a hill or through caves, another child put in their place.”
Pippin said, “Will they hurt Tom?”
“I don’t think so,” Melissa said. “He’s valuable to the queen. She will have put spells on him to make him forget his name, forget who he is, forget his life in the upperworld. She will do all she can to make him believe he is the prince of Affandar.” She touched Pippin’s hand. “Tom—a healthy child—is her assurance of her title to the throne. I don’t think she’ll hurt him.”
“What will she do if he remembers who he is? If the spells do not—hold?”
“Likely they will hold. She has great power.”
“Spells cannot be—broken? Go wrong?”
“They can,” she said quietly.
“The door is the portal,” Pippin said softly. “But is it not more than that? Is there not power within the door?” His eyes shone. “Power—that has increased since you came. I think it was the power of the portal that first made me know I was different. And then you came.” His yellow eyes glowed in his strong human face. “You made me feel strange, uneasy.” He began to pace. “You must teach me all spells. You must teach me everything about the Netherworld. You must do it at once.”
She only looked at him.
“I must go quickly to find Tom.”
“You can’t go there. Siddonie would destroy you.”
His feline gaze was searing, daunting. “I will go to find Tom.”
“There are times for patience.”
“I know that. I am cat, I know how to be patient. One is patient before a mouse hole. This,” he said imperiously, “is not so simple. I will go into the Netherworld and I will return with Tom.”
She sighed, stroking the sleeping kitten, filled with misgivings. Pippin was stubborn and hardheaded, truly Catswold. She said, “I will teach you all I can.”
Chapter 51
Pippin sat naked in Olive’s dining room reciting Netherworld spells. Already Melissa had taught him to bring a spell-light, to turn aside arrows, to open locks. He delighted her with his quick, thorough Catswold retention. She soon had taught him every spell he might need, and some just for his pleasure. He took her sandal from her foot and made it dance and hoot like an owl. He called forth a fear that made the kitten spit and left Melissa trembling, unable to pull herself free until he released her.
He said, “I am ready now. I am going now to find Tom.”
“You aren’t going naked.”
“Why not?”
“You can’t go around naked.” She swallowed a laugh at his puzzled look. “You will be cold, Pippin. And you will have no pockets to put things in. You must wait until I buy you some clothes.” She rose. “Just stay here until I come back.” He nodded, perplexed, she was out the door before he could argue.
In the village she bought jeans and a sweatshirt, sandals that seemed the right size, and a backpack, a blanket, a rope, some candy bars and something called trail food, and a good knife. She was back at Olive’s within an hour. Pippin dressed himself clumsily, complaining, and they went down through the garden. He had hugged Olive and rubbed his face against her by way of good-bye. The old woman had made him some sandwiches and put a thermos of milk in the pack. Melissa had drawn a map for him. She was nervous with worry, but there was no changing his mind.
In the tool room she brought a spell-light and spread out the map. She showed him how to travel from the tunnel to the palace, and from there to Mag’s cottage. She showed him the three rebel camps he would pass, and described and named the rebel leaders she knew. She gave him enchantments to manage a horse. She was describing the inside of the palace, and how to get to Wylles’ chambers, where Tom was likely to be, when something scraped against the oak door and it swung open.
